This wine is pure luxury from the Napa Valley.

We’re proud to welcome back to our pages, Vineyard 36. Today, we have their exquisite Vineyard 36 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was made by Keith Emerson who has made wines for some of our very favorite wineries.

This Napa Cab features a classic deep garnet coloration, with a bright maroon lip at the outermost edge. It also boasts a richly perfumed nose of potpourri, pipe tobacco, and allspice. The fruit ranges from dark plum to maraschino cherry. Taking a sip, you’ll find ample quantities of plum compote, gingerbread, cardamom, vanilla, and blackberry bramble. Balance is the name of the game. With a wonderful mid-palate body that rolls off the sides of the tongue, this well-crafted wine checks all the boxes. It may be cliché, but this Napa Cab really would be perfect for steak night.

Today’s SSS selection comes to us from National Hockey League player Cam Ward and former player Tim Gleason, who formed their own team when they partnered with winemaker Keith Emerson and former Tobacco Road Winery owner, Jason Earnest. Keith has made wines at some of the best wineries in the world, including Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Robert Craig Winery, Knighton Family Vineyards, Sang-Froid Vineyards, Vinoce Vineyards, Vineyard 36, Labry Vineyards and Martin Ray Winery.

The winery sources their fruit from two of the most treasured appellations in the Napa Valley, Oakville and Stags Leap. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, Oakville is at the base of the Vaca Mountains to the east and the Mayacamas Mountains to the west. Within this small district, you will find the greatest concentration of Napa Valley’s premier vineyards growing the coveted Cabernet Sauvignon.

In the influential Oakville appellation, you will find such wineries as Robert Mondavi and Joseph Heitz, to powerhouse brands Groth, Far Niente, Opus One and Joseph Phelps, and “cult Cabernet” producers Dalla Valle, Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle.

Stags Leap is just south of Oakville and provides wineries there with a particularly unique terroir for Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil of this region include loam and clay sediments from the Napa River and volcanic soil deposits left over from erosion of the Vaca Mountains. A turning point for the region was in 1976 at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting, where a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet won first place in the red wine category, beating out established powerhouse Bordeaux estates.

Today’s wine delivers the best of Napa Valley, from a team that cares deeply about crafting extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy it.